Janice+Wilhelm+LBF

Executive Summary
The EDTEC 670 class recruited 262 respondents to a survey on the subject of Learning, Boredom and Fun. Demographics on this set include the following:


 * 41.9% were male and 58.1% were female.
 * Ages ranged from 7 to 86.
 * The educational levels varied from elementary school to graduate school.

For this exercise the surveymonkey tools were used as well as downloading the information into an Excel spreadsheet for further analysis.

What Makes Learning Boring?

 * When students feel that they are not expected to interact, move or participate, they experience more boredom.** A strong majority of respondents described their boring learning experience as passive and constrained. They felt they were not expected to interact with the instructor, other students or technology (from 49.1% to 69.6%), and in at least one case the learner even felt punished for responding. They felt that they had to sit still (73.5%), listen (91.9%), and watch (72%). At least one respondent described the experience as “it felt like jail” (soccer mom).

Cognitive dissonance results when teaching doesn’t match the variety of learner styles in a class or when there isn’t a refreshing combination of styles. Among 28 of the respondents who mentioned “hands-on” experiences as being fun (suggesting a more kinetic learning style), formal lecture formats are boring. “Nick I” (hands-on learner) says about a biology class: “At the beginning of the semester I sat in the front, until I fell asleep one day and began snoring. I sat the rest of the semester in the back of the class and struggled to stay a wake.”
 * The instructor’s delivery and skill as a speaker affects the relative fun or boredom of the experience.** A number of respondents described the lecturer’s presentation style as a major reason why the experience was boring. They described a typical lecture class with a large room of students and a single instructor that stands in front speaking in a monotone or just reading presentation slides. Imax: “Every day in class we were supposed to work out of our workbook and listen to the teacher drawl on in his monotone voice.”


 * Distractions can set up the learning experience for failure.** Several respondents mentioned that what made an experience particularly boring was that they really wanted to be elsewhere, doing something else. The “opportunity cost” of spending time in class versus “going surfing” makes the experience excruciating. Chump says: “I could not get my head into learning that day, regardless of the subject matter. I really just wanted to go surfing.”


 * Confusion and lack of understanding of the subject matter can cause students to get bored and to “check out.”** Litespeed: “I think it was boring because I was not able to understand what was being taught.” RP: “I really dislike math and am not good at it. Since I don’t understand it well and find it frustrating, as well as rather useless, it’s boring.” Space Cadete mentioned “personal alien

What Makes Learning Fun?

 * Hands-on, active experiences can make learning fun.** Direct involvement in the material can really involve learners. 76 of the 262 respondents mentioned some sort of hands-on activities as part of their memorable fun experience. L2S: “It was hands on and my teacher let us play around with the programs and have fun...”


 * Variety is the “spice” of instruction.** Many of the respondents referred to the variety of activities as being key to a fun experience (in contrast to the “formal” lecture style). Pancakehead: “The training was fun because of the variety of ways it was handled. Some listening, some watching, lots of discussing, and lots of doing. It wasn't the same thing for the whole day. ...(Plus, we wrapped up the day by having a Wii bowling tournament, so we were rewarded for the long training!)”


 * Challenge can be fun, even when it's a bit frustrating.** 67.1% of respondents identified “critical thinking” in their fun experience, suggesting that challenging learners can make the experience more fun as long as it’s not too difficult or confusing for them. It’s interesting to note that even if there is some frustration involved in the challenge, it can pique a learner’s interest or awaken a competitive drive. imax: “... it was frustrating in a fun way and it made us think ‘critically’ and hard.”


 * Engaging the learner in creative production is fun.** Thinking creatively was cited in 71.7% of the “fun” experiences. Hovi: "We got to build our own things and be creative.”


 * Opportunities for interaction with the instructor, other learners and with technology makes learning more fun.** Miss Mouse: “This experience was fun to me because I was interacting with other classmates, moving around and really engaged in the lesson.”

Implications
The results for several key parameters flipped between the boring experience vs. the fun experience. The key variables appear to relate to interaction with other learners, with the instructor, and/or with some artifact or technology. Learners were less constrained to sit still and were expected to move around. Expectations were higher to present or perform. Learners felt encouraged to think creatively or felt their creativity stimulated. They were also encouraged to think critically and be challenged.

There are several implications that are relevant for distance virtual learning environments:
 * It’s important to introduce a variety of techniques that appeal to different learning styles and senses (auditory, visual, kinetic, etc., shades of Harold Gardner).
 * Instruction should be challenging but not so abstruse as to cause learners to “check out.”
 * Include hands-on tasks that encourage creativity.
 * Create new types of reward or incentive systems?
 * Sponsor an informal atmosphere where people can feel more relaxed and have the freedom to move around. Asynchronous online classes may work better for some people so that they can choose to listen to lectures on their own terms. For example, Chump could go surfing in the morning and listen to the lecture when he’s in a more receptive mode.
 * Opportunities for interactions with other students--possibly even some opportunities for friendly competition? Maybe this is where games “come into play.”